Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
“Has anyone ever told you you’re damned frustrating?”
“All the damned time, baby.”
“I don’t love you. But I could see myself loving you given enough time.”
He studied me before shaking his head. “I can’t tell if you’re lying or not. I’m going with not since this is moving faster than you’re comfortable with.”
“What about you? Could you see yourself loving me?”
For the first time since I’d met him, Cyrus didn’t have an answer. In fact, he looked confused as all get out. Like he didn’t understand the question.
“I’m not sure.”
“Ouch.”
“No,” he said hastily. “That’s not what I mean. I’m not sure, you know, what that is.” He cleared his throat, looking away. Embarrassed? “Love.”
“I’m surprised you’d admit that.”
“I’ll never keep things from you, Odette. I want to give you what you need. I’m just not sure how with this.”
“Then we should slow down.”
Immediately he got that stubborn mien that secretly made me smile. “We’re not slowing down. This is happening.”
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. Seriously. The man was like a kid with a new toy he absolutely refused to give up.
“This isn’t a decision I can make on the fly.”
“Like I said. There’s no decision for you to make. You wanted me to take over? That’s what I’m doing.”
“Life or death, Cyrus. That means this is one thing you’re not taking over. Not yet. What if you abuse me? Mentally or physically. What if you cheat? What if I wake up one morning and realize that I simply go, ‘God, I can’t stand the fact that you have to have everything in the house just so, and it’s making me crazy that I can’t leave my dirty underwear on the bathroom floor for more than the fifteen minutes it takes me to shower?’ What if I can’t stand living with you because you’re stubborn and need to control everything around you, because I can see both those traits coming out in spades right now.”
“I hurt you in any way, but especially if I hit you or berate you or humiliate you or any other of a million things a person could do to mentally abuse someone, you go to Sting or any member of the Iron Tzars. Or any of the old ladies. Sting will deal with me and the whole club will protect you. If I ever hit you, my life will be forfeit. No questions asked.”
“That gives me a lot of power.”
“It does. But if you were the kind of person to have me killed in cold blood, I wouldn’t want you with me.”
“Again, Cyrus. You don’t know me. Which is my whole point here. Twenty-four hours isn’t nearly enough time.”
“It is for me. If you’d let yourself turn off your brain and act on instinct, I think you’d realize it’s enough time for you too.”
Chapter Six
Cyrus
What the everlasting fuck was I thinking? Taking Odette as my old lady? She needed someone to protect her. To protect her baby -- assuming she decided to keep it. I was the best protector she could find, which was why I volunteered.
I could keep her and the baby safe. From every-fucking-body. And when I found that asshole who’d played her, then knocked her up, I was gonna make it so he never did it to another young woman ever again. Assuming I let him live.
Yes. That was my plan. I was committing to taking care of a friend’s sister and her child. I might never be able to give her the love she probably needed, but I could give her a stable home, a faithful man, and as much pleasure as she wanted.
Which brought up another question. Had that bastard who’d lied to her made her feel good?
Yeah. No. Wasn’t touching that. I got a pain in my chest thinking about her with someone else. Not happening again. She was mine.
The moment the thought entered my mind, I knew I meant it. I might not deal well with emotions, but I knew what I wanted. This possessiveness was something new. I’d never been possessive over anything other than, perhaps, my bike. What I felt for Odette surpassed anything I had even felt before. I’d say it bordered on the obsessive, but it went way beyond that. I’d passed obsessive a long damn time ago. I was in the realm of stalker but wasn’t about to back off.
“I’m not saying you’re right, Cyrus, but yeah. I feel safe with you. I know you’d never intentionally hurt me. How do I know that?” She gave a little chuckle. “No fucking clue. I just can’t believe my brother would be close with someone who wasn’t a good person.”
“At the risk of cutting my own throat, don’t kid yourself. I’m not a nice man, Odette. But I will protect you with my life and do everything in my power to make you happy.”